The Savior's Summons

The Savior’s Summons

Matthew 11:28-30

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Amplified Bible

28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.”

Introduction: There are many invitations in the Scriptures but none more inviting than the words from our text this morning. This invitation is two-fold. First, there is the Savior’s call to come to himself and second He invites to take His yoke with the result being that we will find rest (a blessed quiet) for our souls. I want to focus on verse 28 and suggest that there are four things that we will be blessed with when we respond to the Savior’s invitation. First…

I. It is an Invitation to Hope – Man’s greatest need.

a. The worst thing that can happen to a man is for him to lose hope. This was the world that Jesus lived and ministered in. The Jews were under Roman occupation and it is estimated that there were between five and ten million slaves, (mostly women) serving the Romans in the Lord’s Day. Slaves were treated like property and their Roman masters had the power of life and dead over them.

We are living in a time of hopelessness. Study after study and survey after survey all say the same thing. People have no hope.

ILL: A group of students visited a psychiatric institution to observe a variety of mental illnesses. One of the individuals was a tragic case. He was referred to as “No hope Carter.”

He was a victim of a fatal disease and was going through its final stages when the brain is affected. Before he began losing his mind, his doctors told him that there was no known cure for him. He begged for a ray of hope but was told the disease would run its course and then end in his death.

Gradually his brain deteriorated and he became more and more despondent. Two weeks before his death he paced in his small room. He was in mental agony and his eyes stared blankly. Over and over he muttered two words, “No hope! No hope!”

After three years of Covid we have an epidemic of depression and despondency and people feel like there is no foreseeable end to how they are feeling. Suicide rates are at an all-time high. Did you know that on average there were 132 suicides per day in 2021. In 2023 more than 50,000 Americans died by suicide, more than any year on record.

One thing that is a heavy commonality among people who die by suicide is an unshakeable feeling of dread, despair, loneliness and hopelessness. Would it surprise you to know the Arkansas is in the top ten in suicide numbers in America.

ILL: In September 1988, Hurricane Gilbert hit the Louisiana coast. At that time it was considered the “Storm of the century.” It battered the shoreline, severely disrupting the shrimping business. Many shrimp boats were lost, causing great concern for several families dependent on shrimping for their livelihood.

On the morning news I watched an interview with a shrimp boat owner. He was asked how the storm would impact the shrimpers. With the devastation of Gilbert as a backdrop, this man said, “well, there is a good side. The storm will have stirred up the bottom of the ocean, making for better shrimping once we’re able to get back out there.” This man understood hope!

Stevenson, P. (2007). 5 Things Anyone Can Do to Lead Effectively (p. 18). Indianapolis, IN: WPH.

[by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation].

II. It is an Invitation to Help – For the mess that they are in. People without hope also feel helpless. They may say or think that no one can help them get better and there is nothing they can do to change their life. They feel that change is impossible. ILL: In his Peanuts strip, Charles Schulz had an amazing talent for communicating truths like this in humorous, memorable ways. In one strip Charlie Brown rests his head in his hands while leaning on the wall and looking miserable. His friend, Lucy, approaches. “Discouraged again, eh, Charlie Brown?” Charlie Brown does not even answer. “You know what your trouble is?” Lucy asks. Without waiting for a response, she announces, “The whole trouble with you is that you are you!” Charlie Brown says, “Well, what in the world can I do about that?” “I don’t pretend to be able to give advice,” Lucy replies. “I merely point out the trouble.”